Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress

Accounting professionals today face increasing challenges.

Online Challenges For Accounting Businesses

Accounting businesses today must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do you have to actively participate in the communities and industries you serve, you must also develop a strong digital presence. This includes having an effective website and learning how to better promote your business services online.

As well as investing money advertising offline on local newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and television spots, etc., businesses in the accounting industry are now also finding that increasingly larger amounts of their budget will need to be assigned to develop and manage a website that attracts clients, engages users, outperforms the competition in search engines and helps create a wider reach online.

This means that your site not only has to look professional, load fast, and be easy to navigate, but it’s also important to keep in mind that your site’s needs may change in time and some aspects will need to be updated often. This requires a well-developed web and content management strategy.

Another challenge that accounting businesses (and all other professions) face online, is that they have an average of thirty seconds to provide visitors what they are looking for or they will leave your site and go elsewhere.

“Websites have evolved into central information hubs where service information is still present but enhanced with web portals, hyperlinks to state and federal sites, and a variety of free tools.”

Michael Alter, http://www.accountingweb.com/technology/accounting-software/tips-for-improving-your-website

Online Opportunities For Accountants

As well as facing many challenges, there are also plenty of online opportunities available for accounting firms that are willing to evolve to meet digital economy demands and can think strategically about improving their online business marketing skills.

This comprehensive guide will help you uncover ways and opportunities to drive more web traffic and build more online credibility for your business.

As well as providing practical tips and information on ways to improve your business online, we also place special emphasis on the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress Content Management System to power your accounting business website or blog.

For more information about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress platform, see these articles:

• Why A Poorly Constructed Website Can Lose You Potential Customers
• Learn How To Grow Your Business Using A WordPress Blog

Practical Tips For Improving Your Accounting Site

This section explains ways to improve your accounting website and get better results. We show you what web pages you need, what content works best, your layout and navigation structure, etc.

If you need website planning assistance, read this article: A Money-Saving Guide To Web Site Planning For Non-Technical Business Owners

Improving Your Website Pages

Professional business websites need several essential pages. Let’s discuss these.

Products And Services Page

You need a page that describes your services or products.

It should include all the services you offer, such as:

• Business – planning, formation, general accounting, payroll, financial statement compilation, book keeping, financing, budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning, consulting, etc.
• Taxation – preparation, planning, reviewing, auditing, advising, problem resolution
• Investment strategies
• Corporate accounting
• Wealth creation
• Superannuation/retirement plan (401k) advice
• Audit risk assessment and assurance
• Quickbooks – setup, training, tune up, and support
• Specialist services – mergers, acquisitions, information technology, secretarial, rentals, trusts, fiduciary accounting, succession planning, selling a business, asset transfers, etc.
• Lending and leasing

List all of the services you provide. Educate your visitors about what your services do and why they should book an appointment.

Who We Are

The ‘About Us’ page should give a description of your business and what your business stands for, its unique approach, philanthropical activities, etc.

Remember to also mention any awards, accreditations, certifications, recognitions, associations, publications, etc., that you can use to promote the company and position it above other competitors.

(List all of your professional awards recognitions, accreditations, certifications, publications, associations, etc. in the About page. Screenshot source: deloitte.com)

Team Profile

Are you searching for simple ideas to sell more products online or get visitors to stay longer on your site? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know your business better.

Potential clients need to relate to your business. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your team members. It should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors won’t be well-versed in accounting terms it should tell who they are and what their specialties are. It should also explain what those specialties mean. This page should also include social buttons that will allow your site visitors to follow some of your staff members on their social networks.

On this page, make sure to highlight your person’s expertise, why they are an invaluable asset to your team, and more importantly, how they can help add value to your clients’ business.

(Add a page that introduces your team to prospective new clients. Screenshot image sourced from: deepsky.com)

We have created a detailed tutorial on how to easily add an easy-to-manage simple team directory to your WordPress site using a free WordPress plugin here: How To Easily Add An Employee List Directory To Your Site

Job Opportunities Page

This is a listing of career opportunities available within your organization. This page should include training, employee benefits, professional development, etc. It should include information about additional career opportunities in the accounting and financial services industry.

Maintain a positions available section in your page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to the page, join your updates list, follow you on social media, etc.

Testimonials & Case Studies

Case studies and reviews from clients are a great way to show prospective clients what type of solutions you can implement to help them solve problems. By adding a page with testimonials from past clients and case studies, you will also help to provide visitors social proof.

(Add a page with reviews from clients and case studies. Image source: pcg-services.com)

We have written extensively on using testimonials and reviews to improve your business results online. Go here to learn more: Convert More Visitors Into Qualified Leads With Captivating Customer Testimonials

Contact Page

A contact page is essential.

Your contact page should include:

• Company Name
• Your physical location
• Telephone
• Facsimile number
• Email address
• Google Map
• Website address
• Contact form
• Request for information – contact details
• Links to social media profiles
• Online Chat/Skype (optional)

If your business services multiple areas you should make this clear when displaying your address and contact information.

You could also include links to commonly-asked questions, frequently-visited pages, special offers, support page, newsletter, blog, etc.

Add An Accounting Blog

A blog can be a powerful marketing tool for your business. Blogs typically include a content management system that allows you to promote your business using content like announcements, product updates, useful articles and tutorials, opinions and discussions, videos, webinars, etc.

If you already have an existing site, then consider adding a WordPress-powered blog to promote your company.

If you don’t have a website yet, or your existing site is very hard to keep updated or not delivering you the results you want, then WordPress can be used both as your business website and blog.

Very few people know that WordPress can become an automated traffic machine that can help begin driving an ongoing stream of new visitors to your web site, simply by publishing regular content to your site.

(An expertly configured WordPress site can automate your traffic generation)

Go here to learn more about this: Website Traffic Blueprint – Discover How To Turn Your Website Into A Traffic Generation Machine

Legal Information Pages

Having a website that complies will all legal requirements online is vital, not just for building credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that you are not breaching local, regional or federal laws and regulations wherever you provide services to.

Adding some or all of the legal pages below to your accounting website will help keep you out of legal hot water with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential sources of legal threats and inconveniences:

• Contact Page
• Privacy Statement
• Terms And Conditions
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Linking Policy
• Health/Financial Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• and others

Go here if you would like to learn more about adding legal pages to your website: How To Add Legal Pages To Your WordPress Site

Tips On How To Improve Your Content

In today’s globally competitive economy, being generous with content that educates and informs visitors has become one of the key success factors for businesses.

By committing to providing great content with useful information and tips, you will get your visitors sharing your content and coming back for more information. This is the most effective way to educate your visitors and prospective clients about your business.

For example, for an accounting or financial services business, topics can include the following:

• How balance sheets work
• Overlooked tax deductions
• Directors’ duties and legal responsibilities
• How to present accounts for fundraising activities
• Cashflow planning advice
• Maximizing business insurance cover
• Protecting revenues
• How to structure a self-managed retirement fund
• Do’s and don’ts of … (e.g. purchasing vs leasing, setting up payroll systems, etc.)

You can also create a series of informative articles that will help your readers gain a better understanding of accounting services, such as forensic accounting, small business accounting, business auditing, reducing business debt, understanding financial conventions, etc.

Remember to use specific keywords in your content that readers would search for online.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive a comprehensive series of training emails with actionable information and practical tips that will show exactly how to drive more traffic to your web site, save money creating high-quality content for your site visitors and grow your business online using content marketing. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also 100% FREE!

Improving User Experience

Improving your site’s user experience (often referred to as UX) will help you keep visitors coming back and engaging with your site. This section will show you different ways to improve visitor engagement and user experience.

Syndicating Content - RSS Feeds

An RSS feed provides many benefits for your accounting business.

If you provide content that adds value to others, other businesses will want to syndicate your content.

Some of the benefits of having other businesses syndicate your content, include:

• All of your content updates are kept in one place
• your content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Your feeds can be shared online
• Users can subscribe to your RSS feed
• An RSS feed provides a way for links to point back to your content
• Your feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregators
• There are multiple ways readers can receive your content (e.g. users can view your content on their mobile device using a feed reader)
• It’s built into WordPress

There are also a number of benefits when it comes to providing valuable information on your website from other websites, such as the fact that you don’t have to write, manage or update the content.

You can find RSS feeds with loads of useful content by visiting sites of relevant government departments or key industry bodies.

Below we have listed some feeds containing useful information that you could add to your site:

• Taxation Policy Center: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/press/rss.cfm
• Australian Taxation Office: https://www.ato.gov.au/RSS-news-feeds.aspx
• Canada Revenue Agency: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/rssfeeds/
• UK HM Revenue and Customs: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rss/rss.htm
• South Africa Revenue Service: http://www.sars.gov.za/Pages/RSS-Feeds.aspx

(Use RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to improve your website’s user experience.)

Checklists & Forms

Checklists and forms are a fantastic way to increase user engagement and add value to your audience. Checklists and forms can provide users with useful step-by-step instructions and resources to perform tasks. Forms and checklists can also be great business planning tools.

You can provide a range of online or downloadable forms and checklists (or links to these) covering subjects such as:

• How To Set Up A Business
• Rental Property Checklist
• Not-For-Profit Activity Checklist
• Disclosure Checklists
• Individual Tax Checklist
• Self Managed Super Fund Tax Checklist
• Income Tax Variation Forms

Other Tools

Providing unique online tools and applications for businesses on your website can help increase visitor engagement and add significant value to your target audience. Calculators, such as loan and tax calculators, are some of the most popular tools for accounting websites. Others would include time cards, and retirement and interest calculators.

In the next section, we will look at a several online tools you can use in your website using WordPress plugins and themes that can improve search engine optimization, increase user engagement and drive more web traffic to your business.

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This is the end of section 1 of this article on ways to improve your accounting business web presence.

To continue reading, click this link:

• How To Successfully Build And Grow Your Accounting Business Online – Part 2

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